Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has said the Second Republic is bringing development to marginalised districts such as Tsholotsho and Binga in Matabeleland North among other parts of the country in line with Government’s thrust of transforming communities from poverty to prosperity.
President Mnangagwa in April directed Government departments to develop Binga District which had lagged behind for years in terms of development.
This has seen the district having a teachers’ college which has already started enrolling students.
On the other hand, 20 members from the San community from Tsholotsho wrote their piece of history after being recruited to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services as Government moves to ensure they shake off the marginalisation tag.
Delivering the Heroes Day speech at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare on Monday, President Mnangagwa said Government is honouring the country’s heroes and heroines by bringing development to communities.
President Mnangagwa said the Government has adopted the philosophy ‘leaving no-one and no place behind’ as part of the broad-based policy of bringing prosperity to all communities.
“Deliberate and greater priority will be given to under-developed districts such as parts of Tsholotsho, Binga, Kanyemba and Muzarabani, among others,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the construction of dams such as Gwayi-Shangani Dam, Chivhu Dam, Kunzvi and Tuli Manyange dams among others is part of the efforts to ensure all communities have access to potable water.
Lake Gwayi-Shangani dam construction
He said to complement the construction of dams, Government has rolled out the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme which will result in the drilling of boreholes in every village in the country.
“After all, the war of liberation was fought and won in these villages. Our people at the village level must thus, continue to be endeared to the national development policies as they look at the broad array of projects and programmes within their communities,” he said.
The President said Government will continue to invest in the agricultural sector for the country to achieve food security. He said his administration is scaling up productivity for the climate proofing farming method Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme with 1,2 million more households being added to the scheme.
“The broad array of programmes by my Government to enhance production and productivity in the agriculture sector is seeing the emergence of new categories of heroes and heroines in this sphere. The Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme will not stop and remains ongoing with the number of beneficiaries increasing from 1,8 million to 3 million households,” he said.
Pfumvudza/Intwasa fields
“Inspired by the resilient spirit of yester-year heroes, let us continually strive to produce all the food we eat to guarantee our dignity as an independent people. No Zimbabwean should be subjected to abuse and ridicule by subversive NGOs on the pretext of food aid.”
The President said there is also a need to improve access to urban housing in line with the rural urban migration.
“The increasing urbanisation and ever-changing demographics as reflected in the 2022 Population and Household Census, reinforce the urgency of this matter. Resource mobilisation to support various human settlement and housing development programmes are being scaled up,” said the President.
President Mnangagwa said Government remains committed to engagement and dialogue processes as part of the efforts to strengthen the country’s democracy.
“The war of liberation was fought on an understanding of grievances and concerns of the masses. The Second Republic, therefore, attaches great importance to the values of, dialogue, responsiveness and inclusive stakeholder engagement. I, therefore, encourage our people to take advantage of platforms that have been created to facilitate feedback from citizens on the impact of programmes and projects designed to uplift their livelihoods,” said President Mnangagwa.
President Mnangagwa
“The Second Republic is a Government of the people; by the people and for the people. We are committed to transparency and accountability to the people of our great motherland, Zimbabwe.”
He said his administration commits to upholding democracy and constitutionalism, rule of law and respect for human rights which heroes and heroines of this country fought for.
President Mnangagwa called on citizens to remain patriotic and work towards developing the country without discriminating against each other.
“I once again call upon us all to honour our heroes and heroines by demonstrating unflinching patriotism and loyalty to our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe. Those we are paying homage to, fought for our independence knowing no tribe but bonded together by their love for Zimbabwe and desire to see our people free. Let us carry the baton as heroes and heroines of this period, right from within our communities. Every one of us are enjoined to play their part. There can be no spectators,” said President Mnangagwa. — @nqotshili